More than 200 members of the Toronto Public Service will walk together in the Toronto Pride Parade on Sunday, July 3. While City divisions and agencies have taken part in the Pride Parade in the past, this is the first year that the Toronto Public Service will participate as a group. Staff from Toronto Fire Services, Toronto Paramedic Services and Toronto Police Service will also join the parade.

"I am delighted that so many employees plan to be part of this year's Pride Parade," said City Manager Peter Wallace. "The participation of the Toronto Public Service demonstrates our continued support of diverse communities, as we strive to promote an inclusive and equitable environment for employees and residents."

Participation in the parade is part of building and expanding the City's Positive Space Toronto program, with the goals of increasing awareness and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S) employees and providing inclusive services to LGBTQ2S service recipients.

The City is committed to furthering LGBTQ2S awareness and understanding, leading to widespread acceptance and equity. Earlier this month, Toronto became the first Canadian city to proclaim Pride Month (Pride Week has been proclaimed since 1991). Also, for the first time, the City raised the transgender flag along with the rainbow flag in proclamation of Pride Month.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.